


Rosa Odorata, Safrano

by Galadriel



Category: Shoujo Kakumei Utena | Revolutionary Girl Utena
Genre: Angst, Blood, Embedded Images, Emotional Manipulation, F/M, Illustrated, Incest, Manipulation, Roses, Sibling Incest, Siblings, Vignette
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2001-01-04
Updated: 2001-01-04
Packaged: 2017-12-22 19:56:15
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 854
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/917413
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Galadriel/pseuds/Galadriel
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>A thorn hides amongst the hothouse roses.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Rosa Odorata, Safrano

**Author's Note:**

> "Rosa Odorata" is the scientific name for the Tea Rose, and "Safrano" is a specific yellow specimen, the characteristics of which match nicely with Nanami over the course of the series. Thanks, Kotori, for not screaming and running away when I pounced on you out of nowhere asking for art; it's a gorgeous picture.
> 
> Spoilers for episode 31, "Kanojo no Higeki" ("Her Tragedy").
> 
> (Originally written for _Appendix A: The Anime Alberta 2001 Fanfiction Collection_.)

The glass door clicked closed as Touga stepped fully into the greenhouse. The afternoon sun, dipping gently to the west, slanted through the panels and painted the young man's shadow onto the floor behind him. The flowers sat segregated and labelled by genus and species, row after row neatly lining an expanse of tables. The green smell of vegetation was overwhelming in the midday heat. Man and shadow wandered a short way down the nearest row of plants, stopping in front of one of a dozen tea roses. He leaned close to the bloom of a particularly yellow bud, his hair falling forward to obscure all of his vision outside of the rose. One long-fingered hand drifted to cup the petals and--

Touga hissed and jerked his hand away from the plant. A drop of blood blossomed on the tip of his index finger, and as he straightened up, he unceremoniously stuck the injured digit into his mouth. He suppressed the urge to sweep the offending flower from the table, pot and all, just to watch the crockery smash and the leaves shred. That was an action suitable to a childish thug like Saionji, but it was not a thought Kiryuu Touga, Student Council President, would ever entertain. He, after all, had a certain standard to uphold, even in private. Of course, there was nothing wrong with tearing off a few petals; no harm in separating the wheat from the chaff. Roses were meant to be pliable, beautiful moments given form. There was no room for thorns in this garden. He sucked absently at his finger, debating which petal to pluck first. 

Out of the corner of his eye he caught a rustle in the bushes lining the path to his right. Realizing he was not alone, Touga masked his irritation over his seeping finger, and smoothly covered it with a veil of indifference. He pulled his finger slowly out from between pursed lips, lapping gently at the wound.

Another rustle and Nanami stepped onto the path, her face filled with worry and uncertainty.

Touga looked at his sister, waiting patiently for an explanation of her concealment.

"O...onii-sama..." she began, stopping as her throat closed around the word.

Touga said nothing. He could wait all afternoon if necessary. He smiled benignly at the small form in front of him and tucked a stray lock of hair behind his left ear. 

She began again. "T--onii-sama..."

"Yes, Nanami-san?" He took great pleasure in stripping away the familial trappings of her name. 

"I... We're siblings. We... _were_ siblings. I--Onii-sama, if we're not... brother and sister... and I'm--I... Am I just one of... them?"

The smile faded from his lips.

"I--I want to be with you. I..." she paused. "Onii-sama, I--I want..."

There was barely a flash of warning in his eyes before he lunged forward and grabbed Nanami by her wrists. He yanked her arms above her head, forcing her onto her toes. She slumped against her brother's chest, off-balance and unable to do anything but watch him shift so that the long fingers of one hand curled around both her wrists in a vise. She could feel the weave of his uniform brush past her upturned face.

His anger glittered in the sun; hard, cold and brittle. "Is this what you want?" he growled, words tumbling like gravel into the dead air. She stared at him, unable to answer. "This _is_ what you want," he revised, confident in his assessment. He leaned over as if to whisper in her ear, his lips parting silently. Nanami strained to catch his words. A moment later, she dimly felt the delicate touch of something slightly damp. Her breath caught in her throat.

The tip of his tongue tickled lightly at her collarbone before the whole descended. The soft, warm pressure made the tiny hairs on her neck stand up, only to be swept flat as Touga licked one long, slow line to her earlobe.

"Onii-sama?" Nanami's eyes were wide with fear and anticipation. She trembled as Touga gently kissed her lobe.

"Just kidding." Nanami barely heard the rumble of speech bubbling up from Touga's chest as he released her wrists, and in one smooth movement, pushed her aside. In that moment her brother's eyes broadcast her place in the world, in _his_ world. She was a broken doll and he had much more exciting toys. She stumbled backward, knocking over a blur of yellow and green. Crockery cracked loudly as it hit the floor.

Touga turned and strode casually away, the white span of his back broken only by the waves of cascading hair. The greenhouse door clicked closed as he stepped out into the sun. 

A flat, metallic taste burst in Nanami's mouth, but a full minute passed before she realised she'd bitten the inside of her cheek. It trickled to the back of her throat, trailing the taste of difference. Rubbing worriedly at her left wrist with her right hand, she wondered briefly what type A blood tasted like before folding herself into a small heap underneath the rows of roses.


End file.
